ABTC hires director of corporate development and strategy

Reno, Nevada-based critical battery materials recycler American Battery Technology Co. (ABTC) has hired Tony DiCenso as its director of corporate development and strategy.

The company has recently begun high-throughput operations at its first commercial-scale lithium-ion battery (LIB) recycling facility and says DiCenso will be responsible for using his experience in the metals industry to optimize the marketing and contracting for purchase of these recycled products by ABTC’s strategic partners.

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According to ABTC, DiCenso brings more than 15 years of industry experience in global commodities markets to his newly created position. He joins ABTC from Apple, where he was most recently responsible for global battery metals and cathode procurement, as well as long-term strategy development in support of Apple’s recycled battery materials initiatives.

Prior to Apple, he was a vice president in base metals trading at Goldman Sachs, responsible for trading and analysis of physical and derivative metals markets. Over the course of his career, DiCenso has gained experience and transacted in a broad range of primary and secondary materials, and occupied the seat of a consumer, trader, analyst and now, producer. He began his career in commodities in the aluminum department of Glencore Ltd.

“We are excited to have Tony join the team to lead the development and optimization of our strategic contracts and offtake agreements with our corporate partners,” ABTC CEO Ryan Melsert says. “The types of recycled products that we are currently manufacturing domestically are in high demand and require multifaceted long-term offtake agreements in order to fully capture their value, and through Tony’s experiences in battery metals trading and global metals purchasing at some of the premier institutions in the world, he has the exact skillset needed to lead these efforts as ABTC progresses through its commercialization plan and growth roadmap.”

In his role, DiCenso will lead the company in commercial sales of ABTC’s battery metals products, pricing and financing strategies and new customer acquisitions. Adding to the company’s business development team, DiCenso will support overall strategy and new growth initiatives, mergers and acquisitions, negotiations and deal structuring.

“I’m thrilled to join ABTC at such an important time for both the company and the industry as a whole,” DiCenso says. “ABTC is simultaneously pursuing multiple strategies—all of which are critical to enabling the energy transition. I couldn’t be more excited to leverage my entire background to help commercialize new technologies and accelerate the company’s trajectory.”

DiCenso received his bachelor’s degree of science in economics with a minor in business administration from the University of Colorado, Boulder.